Some of you may at one time or another wondered if we, the team at commonground, might be keeping track of your activity on the web.   I am half serious with this comment as I have received this question on a number of occasions.  Let me assure you we don’t, but many other sites do. 

Ever wonder why all of a sudden after you searched for some stuff (insert specific product, topic, or service here) on the web you start to see ads popping up for that same stuff?  Strange coincidence – nope.  Ever happened to you?  Do you find yourself clicking through to it?

Last week, I was intrigued by an article called Spying on the Web – Who Is Watching You that I read on WebGuild.org.  It talked a about a recent investigation and article by WSJ titled The New Gold Mine:  Your Secrets .  It addressed web sites and how they are in fact, essentially spying on people – like you and me.   I spent some time looking into it last night. 

What is interesting to me is that Google, who is criticized frequently, about trying to take over the world, is actually not a big time offender.   However, sites like comcast.net, dictionary.com, careerbuilder.com, msn.com, and photobucket.com are.  Please note that I did not include links for that reason.

These sites are using what is called a “beacon” to track individuals by capture what you are writing.  The tracking system assigns you a number which is used to scan what you are doing.  The Information is then sold to advertisers.  I encourage you to check out below following graph published in the WSJ that provide some details.  

One thing to note – many people make negative comments about social networking sites.   The most successful social networking sites are at the bottom of the list.  The reason why is successful social media initiatives and networks, such as commonground, are based on trust.   And, that is why Google gives them authority in search results.

Advertisers are looking for new ways to reach interested parties via the web and mobile devices.  They are paying a premium to do so.  Web advertising will continue to get smarter and more intelligent so beware of the sites you visit and use regularly.  They just may store and analyze information about you that you don’t want exposed.  

So next time you see that ad for the new book you just discussed with someone online, don’t think it was a strange coincidence.   It wasn't.